Beloved designer Virgil Abloh died late last month of cancer at the age 41. Although he was renowned for his impact on fashion, he was also very interested in automotive design — and even collaborating with Mercedes-Benz on a concept car.
That vehicle, dubbed Project Maybach, was designed in partnership with Daimler AG’s chief design officer Gorden Wagener. It’s an all-electric, off-road, super-luxury coupe.
Mercedes-Benz unveiled the vehicle at Art Basel Miami Beach in a ceremony that paid tribute to Abloh.
“A design unlike anything that has been developed by Mercedes-Benz, every element of Project Maybach has been built from scratch,” the automaker said in a statement. “Abloh, collaboratively with Gorden Wagener, has interpreted Mercedes-Maybach’s luxury identity with a new design language and pushed the boundaries of function, style, and collaborative creativity.”
“Never afraid to spark conversation through provocative design, Project Maybach channels Abloh’s passion to challenge the status quo and re-write the rulebook of aspirational design,” Mercedes-Benz continued. “The X-Factor nature of Project Maybach results not only from its breathtaking size — nearly 20 feet long — and characteristics, but above all from its unique contrasts; most notably through how naturally authentic Mercedes-Maybach design elements are harmoniously combined with a new Outdoor Adventure design motif.”
Mercedes-Benz hasn’t release technical details of the concept vehicle, likely because it was incomplete at the time of Abloh’s passing. But it’s obvious Abloh took great care to design a visually stunning and capable car.
And that interior is just jaw-dropping gorgeous.
It’s a tragedy Abloh died so young. His influence on automotive design could have been huge.
As a retired graduate industrial designer whose passion is car design, I unfortunately have to say I’m not impressed. The exterior design suggests nothing close to what was supposed to be a luxury adventure ride, in fact it reminds me of the slab-sided 4-door Lincoln Continentals of the ’60’s, only bigger (its about 20 feet long). The interior has an interesting look with its severe seat rolls but the seat framing looks like like industrial shipping crates for some sort of electronic gear. And the side bolsters at the headrests look like they would restrict peripheral vision. I’ve seen a lot more interesting interior work right here from many members of the Hog Ring world.
Technologically, a solar powered car would be an amazing breakthrough, and I’m sure in the stratosphere of Maybach prices, anything goes. The world lost a great fashion designer at far too young an age, and for that I feel bad. But if you want to see great Industrial Design in the automotive field, you should look at an assortment of the world-famous Italian design studios like Pininfarina, Zagato, Bertone, Italdesign Giugiaro and Carrozzeria Ghia. The car itself is not very attractive even as an off-road vehicle.